Half- Cent 


URYinBUI 


BX 

6495 

.S83 

S8 

1      1897 

v-ynne  :^t evens 


NOV  8  1951 


BX  6495  .S83  S8  1897 
Stevens,  Sumner  Wynne. 
A  half-century  in  Burma 


Of 


Dr.  and  Mrs.  E.  A.  Stevens. 


A 

HALF-CENTURY  IN  BURMA 


A    MEMORIAL   SKETCH    OF 

EDWARD  ABIKL'STBVENS,  D.  D. 


BY  / 

SUMNER  WYNNE  STEVENS 


The  image  of  my  father,  my  revered,   kind,   learned,  simple- 
hearted  father,  is  a  religion  to  me. 

—  Coleridge 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 

1897 


Copyright  1897  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


ifrom  tbe  Societie's  own  iprcg0 


INTRODUCTORY 


And  he  shewed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life,  clear   as    crystal,  proceeding 
out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.     Rev.  22  :  i. 

From  before  the  enraptured  eye  of  the  exiled  apos- 
tle the  impenetrable  veil  which  conceals  from  human 
view  the  New  Jerusalem  had  been  drawn  aside  and  he 
was  permitted  to  look  upon  its  splendor.  He  beheld 
its  light  like  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  its  jasper  walls, 
its  pavement  golden,  and  its  radiant  gates  of  pearl. 
He  saw  too,  amid  the  beauty  of  the  celestial  city,  the 
river  of  the  water  of  life,  a  crystal  stream  of  trans- 
parent purity.  Through  the  midst  of  the  street  of  the 
city  it  flowed,  its  source  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb,  while  on  either  bank  was  the  tree  of  life  whose 
leaves  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  A  sweet 
and  lovely  scene  was  this,  disclosed  to  the  vision  of  the 
seer. 

I  have  been  shown  a  river  of  life,  clear  and  crys- 
talhne ;  a  stream  not  free  from  earthy  particles,  but 
one,  notwithstanding,  that  was  remarkably  transparent 
in  its  purity  and  simplicity.  Like  the  heavenly  river, 
its  flow  was  out  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb; 
for  it  was  a  life  whose  springs  were  in  Jehovah  ;  one 
that  was  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  Moreover,  the  in- 
fluences which  went  out  from  that  hfe,  the  trees  as  it 

3 


4  INTRODUCTORY 

were   that    drew  moisture   from   it   and   flourished   on 

either  side   thereof,    bore  leaves  which  were    for    the 

heahng  of  the  nations,  and  which  were  the  means  of 

giving  recovery  of  sight   to  eyes  bUnded  by  spiritual 

darkness  and  sinful  superstition. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  that  I  use  this  figure  of  the 

river,  as   I  preface   what  I  would  tell  concerning  the 

manner  of  hfe  of  one  who  for  nearly   half  a  century 

was   a  missionary  to  the   Burmans,  my  godly,  sainted 

father. 

S.  W.  S. 

Philadelphia,  ya««ar>',  1897. 


A  HALF-CENTURY  IN  BURMA 


THE  subject  of  this  brief  memorial  came  of  godly 
and  missionary  ancestry.      His  grandfather,   the 
Rev.   Josiah   Stevens,   was    a    missionary  in    the 
employ  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  and 
as  a  "pious  minister  of  Jesus  Christ"   labored  on  the 
Isle  of  Shoals,  off  the  coast  of  New  Hampshire. 

Oliver,  the  second  son  of  this  missionary  pastor, 
eventually  made  his  home  in  the  South  and  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  plantation  in  Georgia.  There  he  mar- 
ried and  on  January  23,  1814,  about  two  years  after 
Adoniram  Judson  sailed  for  Burma,  there  was  born  to 
this  Christian  couple,  on  a  place  then  called  Haynes 
Plantation,  near  Sunbury,  Liberty  County,  Ga. ,  a  babe 
who  was  in  after  years  to  prove  a  valued  co-laborer  of 
that  pioneer  missionary  on  far-off  heathen  shores.  The 
boy  was  named  Edward  Abiel  and  was  the  fifth  child  of 
his  parents.  It  is  very  interesting  to  note  that  in  his 
infancy  the  child  was  consecrated  by  his  mother  to 
foreign  mission  service.  Of  this  consecration  my 
father  learned  in  later  years  from  the  lips  of  one  who 
had  known  his  mother  before  her  death,  and  I  will  let 
him  tell  the  story  in  his  own  words:  ''  I  met,"  he  says, 
"in  Albany,  Georgia  (in  1875),  with  a  lady  who 
during  the  war  of  the  rebelUon  became  acquainted  with 

5 


O  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

my  mother.  That  lady  told  me  that  my  mother  fre- 
quently spoke  to  her  of  her  missionary  son  and  men- 
tioned to  her  that  shortly  after  my  birth  a  minister 
came  to  her  house,  when,  holding  me  in  her  arms  she 
requested  him  to  offer  a  prayer  of  consecration  of  me 
for  her  to  the  missionary  service,  and  that  the  minister 
did  as  she  requested. ' ' 

The  gift  of  the  noble-hearted  mother  God  accepted, 
and  the  heart  of  the  boy  Edward  was  early  inclined 
toward  the  work  to  which  his  manhood  was  devoted. 
He  was  naturally  of  a  religious  disposition  and  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  experienced  conversion.  He  was  bap- 
tized in  November,  1827,  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  Sunbury,  Georgia. 

Shortly  subsequent  to  his  baptism  Edward  was  offered 
a  home  in  the  family  of  the  late  Henry  J.  Ripley,  d.  d.  , 
who  was  for  many  years  an  honored  professor  in  the 
Newton  Theological  Institution.  The  proffer  was 
accepted  and  young  Stevens  came  North.  In  his  new 
home  Edward  was  the  recipient  of  every  kindness  at 
the  hands  both  of  Dr.  Ripley  and  Mrs.  Ripley,  who 
was  his  aunt.  He  prepared  for  college  under  the 
tuition  of  Dr.  Ripley  and  entered  Biown  University 
in  September,  1829.  He  took  high  rank  in  his  class 
for  scholarship  and  was  graduated  with  honor  in  1833. 
During  one  period  of  his  college  course  he  had  some 
remarkable  religious  experiences,  which  led  him  into  a 
more  perfect  realization  of  the  nature  of  true  faith  and 
a  more  complete  and  thorough  consecration  of  himself 
to  the  service  of  his  Lord.      After  the  conclusion  of  his 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  / 

college  course  Mr.  Stevens  entered  the  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary  at  Newton,  and  was  graduated 
thence  in  1836. 

My  father  from  the  earliest  childhood  felt  an  especial 
interest  in  the  subject  of  missions,  and  during  the  years 
of  his  college  career  this  feehng  was  deepened ;  but  it 
was  not  until  the  middle  year  of  his  seminary  course 
that  he  fully  decided  upon  the  foreign  field  as  the 
scene  of  his  labors.  The  reasons  which  finally  led  to 
this  decision,  which  he  considered  the  most  important 
of  his  life,  I  will  give  in  his  own  words.  He  says  : 
''What  led  me  to  that  decision  probably  were  three 
things,  (i)  The  deep  interest  which  from  so  early  a 
period  and  for  so  long  a  time  I  had  felt  in  the  subject, 
seeming  to  indicate  a  special  call  of  God  to  the  work. 
(2)  The  fact  so  clearly  taught  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  that  the  heathen  are  in  perishing  need  of  the 
gospel,  and  the  duty  therefore  that  Christians  should 
take  it  to  them.  (3)  And  thirdly,  after  earnest  prayer 
and  the  best  reflection  I  could  give  to  the  subject,  I 
came  to  see  that  I  was  at  liberty  to  choose  that  work 
for  my  hfe-w^ork."  And  he  adds:  ''I  therefore  at 
once  said  'I  choose,'  and  settled  my  mind  on  that 
work. ' '  His  proffer  of  service  to  the  Missionary  Union 
was  accepted  and  he  was  appointed  a  missionary  June 
27,  1836.  ''And  so  I  became  a  missionary,"  he 
writes,  "but  I  did  not  wish  to  go  alone."  And  alone 
he  did  not  go;  for  during  his  residence  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston  he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss 
EHzabeth  Lincoln  Haven,  a  daughter  of  Calvin  Haven, 


8  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

Esq.,  an  old-time  Boston  merchant  of  sterling  integrity 
and  unswerving  honesty  in  all  his  business  relations. 
Miss  Haven  was  also  the  niece  of  Lucy  Lane  Lincoln, 
first  wife  of  the  late  Francis  Wayland,  d.  d.  ,  sometime 
President  of  Brown  University.  The  acquaintance  of 
the  young  Southerner  with  the  Puritan  maiden  deep- 
ened into  mutual  love.  They  were  betrothed,  and 
were  married  on  the  fifth  of  October,  1837,  in  the 
Lynde  Street  home  of  the  bride.  The  union  proved 
a  singularly  happy  one,  not  only  of  hand  but  of  heart ; 
not  alone  of  soul  but  of  sentiment  Hkewise;  and  for 
nearly  fifty  years  Ehzabeth  Haven  was  the  loving  com- 
panion, the  tender  sympathizer,  and  efficient  helper,  of 
her  missionary  husband.  And  to-day  in  far-off  Burma, 
in  a  calm,  sweet  eventide  she  quietly  listens  for  the  dip 
of  the  boatman's  oar  that  shall  summon  her  to  her 
beloved. 

October  28,  1837,  the  young  missionary,  but  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  and  his  fair  young  bride,  not  yet 
twenty-one,  were  to  embark  for  Moulmein  (''Maul- 
main,"  as  it  used  to  be),  Burma.  The  "Services  at 
the  Designation  of  Missionaries  to  the  Burman  Mis- 
sion" were  held  in  the  Federal  Street  Baptist  Church, 
Boston,  Sabbath  evening,  October  22,  1837,  and  among 
those  who  participated  in  the  exercises  were  Rev. 
Baron  Stow,  Rev.  Dr.  Sharp,  Rev.  Geo.  B.  Ide,  and 
Rev.  Prof.  Ripley,  all  of  sainted  memory  now.  Among 
the  hymns  sung  was  the  following,  evidently  written 
for  the  occasion  and  printed  on  the  "Order  of  Ser- 
vices," which  Ues  before  me  : 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  9 

Go  where  idol  gods  unheeding 

Burmans  crowd  the  Salwen's  side ; 

Go  where  souls  for  light  are  pleading, 
Of  the  Lamp  of  Life  denied. 

Souls  benighted, 
Of  the  Lamp  of  Life  denied. 

Hear  the  cry  for  help  prevailing 

Over  tempest,  wind,  and  wave  ! 
Full  of  agony  and  wailing — 

Haste  these  dying  souls  to  save. 
Christian  pilgrim, 

Haste  these  dying  souls  to  save. 

Zion,  send  to  every  nation 

Heralds  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ; 
Spread  the  knowledge  of  salvation 

Until  sin  and  sorrow  cease. 
Pray,  O  Zion  ! 

Pray  till  sin  and  sorrow  cease. 

They  set  sail  upon  the  bark  ' '  Rosabella, ' '  a  small 
vessel  of  three  hundred  tons  burthen.  With  them, 
also  bound  for  the  same  distant  shores,  were  Rev. 
Lyman  Stilson  and  wife,  and  Rev.  D.  L.  Brayton 
and  wife.  As  that  little  band  of  six  young  mis- 
sionaries stood  upon  the  deck  of  the  ' '  Rosabella ' ' 
and  watched  the  slowly  receding  shores  of  their 
native  country,  until  at  last  the  outmost  verge  of 
the  horizon  revealed  no  trace  of  land,  what  emo- 
tions must  have  filled  their  hearts  !  Between  them 
and  their  destination  rolled  and  moaned  sixteen  thou- 
sand miles  of  restless  billow.  But  the  winds  and  the 
waves  had  been  given  charge  concerning  the  small  bark 


lO  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

and  at  last  she  dropped  anchor  off  Moulmein.,  Of  that 
consecrated  company  of  Christ's  commissioners,  but 
two  now  survive,  viz.,  the  Rev.  D.  L.  Brayton,  d.  d., 
who  still  at  an  advanced  age  labors  as  a  missionary  to 
the  Karens,  and  Mrs.  Stevens,  who  makes  her  home 
with  her  eldest  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  D.  A 
W.  Smith,  D.  D.  (a  son  of  the  late  S.  F.  Smith,  d.  d.). 
President  of  the  Karen  Theological  Seminary  at  Insein, 
near  Rangoon. 

Just  here  a  few  reminiscences  of  early  days  in  Burma 
written  by  Mrs.  Stevens  and  read  at  the  Judson  memo- 
rial services  in  Mandalay,  November  i,  1890,  will  be 
of  interest : 

"My  husband  considered  it  one  of  the  high  privileges 
and  rich  blessings  of  his  life,  to  have  been  intimately 
associated  with  Dr.  Judson  in  work  and  his  near 
neighbor  during  almost  eleven  years.  Our  first  sight 
of  the  man  whom  we  had  long  heard  spoken  of  as  '  the 
venerable  missionary,'  notwithstanding  that  he  was 
then  but  forty-seven  years  of  age,  was  his  coming  on 
board  the  'Rosabella'  with  Dr.  Osgood,  as  she  passed 
up  the  Salwen  on  February  19,  1838.  Of  those  who 
were  thus  welcomed,  three  are  still  here.  Three  of 
that  mission  company  have  met  them  above. 

"  Dr.  Osgood  was  then  mission  printer  at  Moulmein. 
The  printing  office  was  in  the  same  compound  with  the 
Burman  chapel,  and  the  three  houses  occupied  by  Dr. 
Judson,  Dr.  Osgood,  and  ourselves.  On  Dr.  Osgood 
and  his  work  I  need  not  enlarge — his  record  is  on  high. 
But  I  have  a  most  vivid  impression   of  the   close  in- 


A    HALF-CENTURV    IN     BURMA  I  I 

timacy  between  the  translator  and  the  printer  while  the 
quarto  edition  of  the  Burman  Bible  was  passing  on  to 
completion.  I  remember  their  starting  off  for  their 
long,  early  morning  walks,  when  their  consultations  by 
the  way  were  of  importance  and  are  felt  to  this  day. 
Dr.  Osgood  was  a  man  wise  in  council  and  of  most 
mild.  Christian  courtesy,  as  well  as  of  activity,  dih- 
gence,  and  firmness  in  what  he  considered  right.  One 
printing  office  rule,  which  was  in  force  in  those  days,  I 
recall  with  satisfaction — the  employees,  heathen  and  all, 
were  assembled  at  seven  a.  m.  daily  for  reading  of 
Scripture  and  prayer.  But  times  are  changed  in  that 
as  well  as  in  many  other  respects;  'times'  and  wages 
too,  how  different !  For  instance,  the  foreman  of  the 
office,  a  most  respectable  Burman,  who  was  rearing 
a  large  family,  received  twelve  rupees  a  month  as  ample 
compensation  for  his  services.  (A  rupee  is  about  one- 
third  of  a  dollar.) 

"Dr.  Osgood  was  an  excellent  singer,  and  having 
acquired  Burmese  well,  was  the  leader  of  our  chapel 
music.  He  also  acted  as  an  evangelist,  making  occa- 
sional jungle  trips  personally,  besides  feehng  the  care 
of  supplying  many  of  the  needs  of  those  who  were 
away  from  town  on  constant  preaching  tours.  Speak- 
ing of  singing,  Dr.  Osgood  was  not  the  first  missionary 
singer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hancock  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cutter  had  preceded  him,  and  to  them  was  accorded 
the  Burmese  Christian's  odium  of  a  most  serious 
innovation  in  public  worship.  Dr.  Judson  and  the 
earher  missionaries  could  not  sing,  and  so  for    years 


12  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

the  Sabbath  services  were  held  without  that  deUghtful 
offering  of  praise.  The  Burmese  associated  the  idea 
of  music  with  theatricals,  and  considered  it  highly 
unbecoming  in  anything  connected  with  serious  relig- 
ion. 

' '  Dr.  Judson  composed  that  first  hymn  more  nearly 
in  accordance  with  the  complicated  style  of  Burmese 
poetry  than  any  other  now  in  our  collections.  Our 
ship's  company  reached  Moulmein  on  Monday,  and 
during  the  week  we  committed  to  memory  the  then  un- 
inteUigible  words  of  the  first  verse,  that  we  might  join 
in  the  singing  on  the  following  Sabbath.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Abbott  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ingalls  were  at  that  time  in 
Moulmein,  but  almost  immediately  left  town,  the  for- 
mer for  Rangoon  and  the  latter  for  Mergui. 

*'  Our  first  port  reached  had  been  Amherst,  and  the 
pale,  thin  face  of  Mr.  Haswell,  as  he  was  rowed  out 
to  our  barque,  is  vividly  before  me  now.  He  and 
Mr.  Ingalls  both  looked  as  if  they  could  not  live  six 
months  longer,  but  many  years  of  good  work  did  they 
accomplish  before  they  were  called  to  their  reward. 
Mr.  Haswell's  house  was  then  of  bamboo,  but  very 
cheerful-looking  and  convenient,  and  I  was  surprised 
and  delighted  that  a  'basket  house,'  as  in  America  I 
had  heard  it  called,  could  be  so  pleasant.  I  was  agree- 
ably disappointed  in  many  things  at  that  time.  What 
a  vision  of  beauty  was  a  baby  boy  creeping  on  the 
verandah.  I  had  no  idea  so  lovely  a  picture  could  be 
found  in  a  heathen  land  as  that  fair,  round-faced,  black- 
eyed  boy,  offered   to  my  delighted  eyes.      That  baby, 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  1 3 

with  his  sisters,  became  in  after  years  the  playmates  of 
my  own  children,  and  still  later,  fellow-laborers  in  this 
land.  I  refer  to  the  lamented  James  R.  Haswell,  whose 
usefulness  as  a  missionary  was  early  cut  off  by  cholera 
in  Moulmein. 

''  I  will  not  attempt  the  giving  of  all  the  names  held 
in  precious  remembrance.  They  are  known  to  all 
lovers  of  missions.  I  will  only  mention  Grover  S. 
Comstock  and  his  noble  wife.  Their  lonely  lives  in 
Arakan  have  had  little  said  in  commemoration  of  them. 
They  were  a  rare  couple.  Mr.  Comstock' s  physique 
was  magnificent — large,  powerful,  handsome,  he  was 
one  to  whom  a  British  officer  once  playfully  said,  '  I 
should  not  like  to  meet  you  in  single  combat.'  And 
his  wife's  appearance  quite  corresponded  with  his  own. 
Their  intelhgence,  piety,  and  devotedness  to  the  hard 
service  in  the  field  assigned  them  equaled  the  expecta- 
tions their  looks  awakened.  Why  was  so  much  strength 
and  zeal  so  soon  laid  low  forever?  We  know  not  now. 
We  may  know  hereafter. 

''Although  not  requested  to  give  reminiscences  of 
Dr.  Judson  himself,  I  will  venture  to  add  a  Httle  one  of 
his  characteristics  which  I  do  not  find  enlarged  upon 
in  any  of  the  memoirs  which  have  been  prepared.  I 
refer  to  his  great  tenderness  toward  little  children. 
How  plainly  can  I  see  him  with  his  clean  little  handker- 
chief wiping  the  eyes  of  a  crying  tot  that  had  a  tumble 
down,  as  our  children  ran  in  the  dusty  compound, 
which  made  tears  and  dust  far  from  ornamental  to  the 
clean  bit  of  cotton  which  he  took  from  his  pocket.    He 


14  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

was  neat  in  the  extreme,  which  made  this  noticeable. 
Indeed  he  considered  his  fastidiousness  an  easily  be- 
setting sin,  which  he  struggled  against  in  a  country 
where  it  might  interfere  with  the  cheerfulness  of  his 
working. 

' '  Mrs.  Bennett  tells  of  his  touchingly  making  him- 
self a  child  to  sympathize  with  her  wee  Mary  as  she 
rocked  her  sick  doll,  mournfully  saying,  'Teh  nah 
dheh.'^  He  conversed  in  childish  and  feeling  Burmese 
with  her,  in  a  tone  Mrs.  Bennett  cannot  forget,  the 
while  soothing  the  rag  baby  with  his  hand,  saying, 
'Teh  pu  dheh.'^  His  tenderness  toward  bereaved 
mothers,  bereaved  either  by  death  or  separation,  was 
great,  evinced  either  by  sympathizing  words  or  notes, 
and  in  one  case  by  an  act  of  thoughtfulness  of  which 
all  visitors  at  Mrs.  Bennett's  may  be  reminded  when 
they  sit  at  her  table  and  look  at  the  portraits  of  two 
little  girls  high  up  on  the  wall  before  them.  Fifty-five 
or  more  years  ago  Mrs.  Bennett  sent  her  two  daughters, 
now  Mrs.  Northrup  and  Mrs.  Ranney,  to  America  by 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wade.  Dr.  Judson  secretly  sent  word  to 
have  the  picture  painted  and  sent  out  as  a  surprise  to 
their  mother's  lonely  heart. 

"Dr.  Judson' s  ready  wit  and  his  powers  of  mimicry, 
aided  by  the  expressiveness  of  his  fine  face,  together 
with  his  remarkable  memory,  rendered  his  conversation 
most  entertaining.  He  could  repeat,  on  the  instant, 
an  old  ballad  which  he  had  read  or  heard  many  years 
before,  perhaps  but  once,    which  would  come  in  so 

1  Very  sick.  2  Very  hot. 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  1 5 

appropriately  that  it  would  seem  to  have  been  written 
for  the  very  occasion  which  called  it  to  mind.  He 
appeared  to  have  read  everything  ever  printed.  He 
had  the  faculty  of  skimming  through  a  book,  getting 
all  the  cream  of  it  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  and 
then  it  was  ever  after  his  own  for  use  at  a  moment's 
command.  Another  peculiarity  was  noticeable — an 
unwillingness  to  talk  of  his  past.  One  evening  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stilson  spent  at  his  house,,  hstening  with  intense 
interest  to  his  reviews  of  his  sufferings  at  Ava.  They 
considered  themselves  highly  privileged  persons,  and 
they  were  envied  by  those  who  had  in  vain  wished  for 
the  same  recital  from  his  graphic  lips.  But  alas  for 
him  and  them  !  He  awoke  the  next  morning  to  such  a 
sense  of  mortification  that  he  had,  as  he  said,  spent  a 
whole  evening  talking  of  himself,  that  we  knew  it 
would  not  be  repeated  to  any  others  of  us. 

'^I  will  close  my  reminiscences  with  one  very  pre- 
cious to  me.  It  is  of  his  voice  in  prayer,  as  he  asked 
for  our  children  and  our  children's  children  to  the 
latest  generation,  that  they  might  be  in  the  service  of 
Christ  until  one  after  another  they  should  reach  the 
gates  of  glory." 

An  episode  in  the  early  experiences  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stevens  in  Moulmein  was  a  fire,  of  incendiary  origin, 
by  which  their  frail  home  was  consumed.  In  a  recent 
letter  Mrs.  Stevens  has  given  a  graphic  description  of 
the  incident,  and  a  part  of  the  story  given  in  her  own 
words  will  be  of  interest  in  this  connection.  Referring 
to  the  morning  of  the  fire,  she  says  : 


l6  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

''About  3  A.  M.  I  heard  'Ahem'  three  times  under 
my  window.  I  touched  your  father,  saying,  '  I  think 
there  is  a  thief  around  trying  to  see  if  we  are  awake.' 
Your  father  Hstened;  he  heard  a  crackHng,  went  to  the 
back  part  of  the  house,  and  found  the  thatch  roof  in  a 
blaze.  Most  calmly  he  returned  to  our  room,  said 
'  There  is  a  fire,  get  up.'  He  was  so  quiet  in  his  man- 
ner that  at  first  I  did  not  suppose  it  our  own  house, 
and  on  finding  it  to  be  so,  in  quite  a  composed  way 
went  from  one  httle  bed  to  another  and  led  the  children 
down  the  front  steps;  we  were  soon  over  to  Mr.  Stil- 
son'  s.  Your  father' s  first  thought  after  he  had  '  counted ' 
us  all  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  was  to  save  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  so  he  rushed  to  the  destruction  of  the  thatch 
roof  which  connected  us  with  our  cook-house  ;  had  that 
taken  fire  the  Burman  house  next  to  it  would  have  com- 
municated (the  flames)  with  the  village.  Our  losses 
were  innumerable,  and  in  many  ways  unreplaceable. 
My  nearest  and  dearest  was  a  very  beautiful  miniature 
of  my  mother. ' ' 

With  reference  to  the  now  sainted  Stilson,  I  remember 
hearing  in  my  childhood  my  mother  tell  the  thriUing 
story  of  how  when  Mr.  Stilson  was  mission  treasurer 
he  was  attacked  in  his  house  by  native  robbers,  and 
how  the  strong,  undaunted  man,  though  alone  and 
weaponless,  fought  and  beat  off  the  marauders.  Of 
this  nocturnal  battle  Mr.  Stilson  bore  the  honorable 
scars  down  to  his  grave. 

Very  soon  after  Mr.  Stevens  set  foot  on  Burman  soil 
the  active  duties  of  his  missionary  service  began.      He 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  1/ 

at  once  began  the  acquirement  of  the  native  tongue, 
and  he  must  have  laid  the  foundations  deep,  for 
throughout  his  Hfe  he  exhibited  a  wonderful  proficiency 
and  accuracy  in  the  use  of  the  Burmese  language. 
Until  his  first  return  to  America  in  1854  Mr.  Stevens 
was  located  at  Moulmein,  and  made  that  place  the 
center  of  his  missionary  activities.  In  1834  Dr.  Judson 
had  completed  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
Burman  tongue,  and  in  1840,  a  Httle  less  than  two 
years  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevens  in 
Burma,  a  second  and  revised  edition  was  issued  in 
quarto  form.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Judson,  the 
latest  emendations  in  the  matter  of  translation  were  in 
the  custody  of  Mr.  Stevens  and  afterward  by  him  in- 
corporated in  later  editions  of  the  Burman  Bible.  To 
him  also  Dr.  Judson  committed  his  MS.  of  the  Bur- 
mese dictionary  which  he  had  prepared.  Mr.  Stevens 
rendered  important  service  in  bringing  out  and  issuing 
this  dictionary,  for  Dr.  Judson' s  MS.  was  in  pencil 
and  part  of  it  so  written  and  interhned  as  to  be 
scarcely  legible.  This  highly  important  work  was 
issued  from  the  press  in  1852,  about  two  years  subse- 
quent to  the  death  of  its  distinguished  author,  which 
occurred  April  12,  1850.  Work  of  this  character  taxes 
the  resources  of  the  highest  scholarship,  and  is  indica- 
tive of  the  importance  of  sending  to  the  foreign  fi;;,ld 
men  of  trained  minds,  as  well  as  of  piety;  men  not 
only  of  goodness  and  grace,  but  of  capacity  and 
scholarship  as  well,  for  some  of  the  most  important 
work  a  missionary  can  do  lies  in  the  direction  of  care- 

B 


1 8  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

fill  and  accurate  translation.  To  do  this  well  one 
must  be  able  to  enter  thoroughly  into  the  genius  of  the 
language  into  which,  as  well  as  of  the  one  from  which, 
a  work  is  rendered. 

In  1852  occurred  the  second  Burmese  war  with  the 
British.  The  first  was  in  1823,  when  the  King  of  Bur- 
ma, ignorant  and  arrogant,  in  a  frenzy  of  bUnd  and 
fatuous  pride  started  a  mihtary  expedition  northward, 
having  for  its  object  the  capture  of  Calcutta.  For  his 
temerity  the  EngHsh  punished  him  smartly  by  captur- 
ing Rangoon,  Burma's  main  seaport,  and  from  that 
vantage-ground  dictating  terms  by  which  the  provinces 
of  Tenasserim  and  Arakan  were  wrested  from  the 
unwilling  hands  of  his  humbled  and  astonished  maj- 
esty. By  1852  another  king  was  sitting  on  the  throne 
of  Burma,  and  the  lesson  of  1823  had  to  be  repeated. 
Rangoon  was  again  seized  by  the  British.  This  time  it 
was  retained  and  with  it  the  rich  province  of  Pegu,  of 
which  Rangoon  was  the  capital.  The  capture  of  this 
city  was  a  very  important  event  in  the  history  of  Bur- 
man  missions,  for  it  brought  the  missionaries  laboring 
in  Pegu  under  the  protection  of  the  Enghsh  flag,  and 
thus  facilitated  the  prosecution  of  missionary  endeavor 
in  Burma  and  the  uplifting  in  that  heathen  soil  of  the 
standard  of  the  Cross. 

In  1854  Mr.  Stevens  and  his  wife,  after  an  absence 
of  seventeen  years,  revisited  their  native  land  for  the 
enjoyment  of  a  well-earned  furlough.  Previously,  in 
1852,  they  had  sent  home  their  two  eldest  children, 
Edward    and    Sarah,    in    the    care    of    Mr.    and   Mrs. 


A    HALF-CEXTURY    IN    BURMA  I9 

Cephas  Bennett.  The  Bennetts,  highly  valued  friends 
and  co-laborers,  were  returning  to  America  for  a  brief 
respite  from  missionary  toil,  and  with  great  kindness 
conducted  the  children  to  their  friends  in  America. 
Two  others  of  their  children,  wee  boys,  my  parents 
had  laid  away  in  the  cemetery  at  Moulmein.  When 
they  left  Burma  they  brought  with  them  four  children, 
two  girls  and  two  boys,  the  youngest  a  babe  ten  months 
old.  The  voyage  home  was  saddened  by  the  illness 
and  death  of  httle  Henry,  a  child  about  three  years 
old,  and  whom  they  laid  to  sleep  in  the  Abney  Park 
Cemetery,  London. 

When  my  father  went  back  to  Burma  in  1857  he 
was  stationed  at  Rangoon,  which  was  thenceforward 
the  center  of  his  activities,  and  it  was  a  busy  hfe  he  led 
in  that  city,  which  during  his  residence  in  it  grew  from 
a  native  city  of  comparative  insignificance  to  its  present 
proportions  as  a  large  cosmopolitan  city  of  great  com- 
mercial importance. 

Upon  a  missionary  to-day — as  upon  that  earlier  am- 
bassador to  the  Gentiles,  Paul — falls  the  general  over- 
sight of  all  the  churches  established  within  the  hmits 
of  his  station.  Moreover,  he  is  constantly  called  upon 
to  assist  in  the  organization  of  native  churches,  and 
their  native  pastors  look  to  him  for  help  and  counsel. 
Besides  this  general  work  of  superintendence,  Mr. 
Stevens  was  for  many  years  pastor  of  the  Rangoon 
English  Baptist  church.  In  addition  to  his  preaching 
and  pastoral  labors,  he  had  much  editorial  work  to  do  in 
connection  with  the  "  Burman  Messenger,"  a  monthly 


20  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

religious  paper  published  in  the  native  language.  He 
also  at  stated  seasons  of  the  year  gave  a  course  of 
regular  theological  instruction  to  young  natives  who 
were  preparing  to  preach  the  gospel  to  their  country- 
men. The  following  summary  of  his  literary  labors  is 
furnished  by  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Smith:  ''At  the  urgent 
request  of  J.  R.  Colvin,  Esq.,  then  commissioner  of  Ten- 
asserim,  Mr.  Stevens  translated  for  the  use  of  schools 
from  the  '  Instructor  '  the  elements  of  general  history, 
in  two  volumes,  octavo,  aggregating  upward  of  four 
hundred  pages.  Besides  a  number  of  tracts,  some  of 
which  have  been  and  still  are  very  much  in  request, 
Dr.  Stevens  prepared  commentaries  on  Matthew, 
Romans,  Galatians,  and  Hebrews,  the  only  commen- 
taries on  the  Scriptures  ever  printed  in  the  Burmese 
language;  a  translation  of  Dr.  Earth's  'Church  His- 
tory,' and  a  small  volume  entitled  'Scripture  Lands.' 
The  Burmese  hymn  book  contains  eighty-four  hymns 
bearing  his  initials.  Many  of  these  are  translations  of 
hymns  dear  to  all  Christians  who  sing  in  the  English 
tongue,  such  as  'Rock  of  Ages,'  'There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood,'  '  My  dear  Redeemer  and  my  Lord,' 
'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,'  'Jerusalem,  the  Golden,' 
'All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,'  etc." 

Moreover,  until  advancing  years  and  the  pressure  of 
other  duties  compelled  him  reluctantly  to  relinquish 
the  habit,  he  was  accustomed  to  make  annual  trips  in- 
to the  jungles  in  order  to  preach  the  gospel  in  distant 
native  villages.  These  jungle  trips  were  seasons  of 
great  joy  to  him,  for  it  was  his  chief  delight  to  tell  to 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  21 

those  who  had  never  heard  it  "the  old,  old  story." 
In  the  earlier  days  of  the  mission,  before  the  intro- 
duction of  steamers  and  railways  into  Burma,  the  usual 
modes  of  conveyance  from  station  to  station  were 
either  a  rude  bullock  cart  over  execrable  roads,  or  by 
river  in  a  native  boat,  this  latter  a  small,  cramped 
craft,  constructed  of  teak  wood  and  propelled  by  oars. 
Before  starting  on  a  jungle  trip  the  missionary  would 
bargain  with  the  native  owner  of  one  of  these  "little 
ships"  for  the  use  of  his  boat  during  the  weeks  re- 
quired for  the  proposed  trip.  Then  boatmen  were 
hired  and  the  boat  furnished  with  the  necessary  pro- 
visions and  bedding.  Thus  equipped  and  laden  with  a 
supply  of  Testaments  and  tracts,  the  missionary  would 
embark  upon  his  "little  ship."  As  the  influence  of 
the  tide  is  felt  far  up  the  Irawadi  River,  in  going  up  the 
stream  the  boatman  must  take  advantage  of  a  favorable 
tide,  and  when  the  tide  turns  the  boat  is  moored  to 
await  another  change.  So,  having  set  out  for  some 
distant  village,  which  it  might  require  a  week  or  two 
to  reach  by  boat,  father  was  accustomed  to  utilize 
the  hours  of  enforced  waiting  for  change  of  tide 
by  going  up  the  banks  of  the  stream  and  into  the 
streets  of  some  wild  jungle  town  adjacent  to  the  spot 
where  the  boat  was  tied,  and  entering  into  conversation 
with  some  native;  soon  a  crowd  would  be  gathered 
about  the  white  stranger  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say. 
To  this  company  would  be  told  the  story  of  the  Cross, 
and  the  eager  listeners  were  urged  to  accept  a  salvation 
freely  offered.      Then  tracts  were  distributed  to  those 


22  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

who  would  promise  to  read  and  the  missionary  passed 
on,  perhaps  soon  to  collect  another  group,  in  whose 
darkened  hearts  he  would  also  seek  to  implant  the 
germs  of  truth,  and  then  hasten  down  to  his  boat  to 
resume  the  voyage.  Thus  much  precious  seed  of  the 
kingdom  was  patiently  and  faithfully  sown  on  these 
trips. 

Sometimes  the  seed  thus  sown  germinated  and 
sprang  up;  but  perhaps  it  would  be  long  years  before 
the  fruitage  was  apparent.  Let  me  adduce  an  incident 
illustrative  of  this,  related  by  my  father  in  a  letter, 
descriptive  of  a  missionary  journey  which  he  had  recently 
made.  Speaking  of  a  visit  to  Pegu,  he  says:  "One 
of  the  recent  converts,  on  coming  to  see  me,  said,  with 
much  pleasure  expressed  in  his  countenance:  'Teacher, 
the  deer  which  was  stricken  so  many  years  ago  at  Thai- 
byoo  was  not  brought  down  till  my  removal  to  this 
place.'  He  referred  to  a  night  which  I  passed  in 
the  village  named,  ten  or  twelve  years  before,  when  a 
word  which  I  spoke  caught  his  attention  and  has  been 
working  in  him  ever  since,  until,  under  the  preaching 
of  our  brother  (a  native  pastor),  it  has  brought  him  to 
a  full  submission  to  Christ. ' '  Many  others,  especially 
in  recent  years,  and  since  my  father's  death,  have 
borne  similar  testimony  to  his  instrumentality  in  im- 
planting in  their  hearts  the  good  seed  of  the  Kingdom, 
when  as  a  sower  this  man  of  God  went  forth  to  sow  on 
the  river  bank  or  by  the  wayside  in  the  jungle  village. 

In  1864  Brown  University,  his  alma  mate?;  conferred 
upon    Edward    A.    Stevens    the  degree  of   Doctor  of 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  23 

Divinity.  In  1874  Dr.  Stevens  and  his  wife  returned 
to  their  homeland  for  a  season  of  rest  and  recupera- 
tion, a  relaxation  from  incessant  toil  compelled  by  a 
failure  of  my  father's  health.  After  about  two  years 
spent  in  this  land  he  again  bade  farewell  to  kindred  and 
country,  and  with  renewed  vigor  turned  his  face  toward 
the  distant  "morning-land."  Ten  years  more  of  ser- 
vice were  given  to  him  ;  then  came  a  period,  owing  to 
ill  health,  of  unaccustomed  service,  for  he  was  often 
compelled  to  stand  and  w^ait.  In  December  of  1885 
he  was  seized  by  the  illness  which  proved  a  messenger 
to  convey  him  from  the  land  of  the  dying  to  the  land 
of  the  living.  Soon  he  was  to  be  made  perfect,  but  it 
was  appointed  that  the  worn  missionary  should  be  made 
so  through  suffering.  And  so  there  intervened  long 
months  of  weary,  painful  waiting  on  the  Lord's  will 
ere  the  change  came  and  the  Master  said,  "It  is 
enough, ' '  The  nature  of  the  disease  was  such  that  it 
caused  a  serious  affection  of  the  heart,  hence  his 
friends  soon  saw  that  the  period  of  active  physical 
exertion  was  forever  gone;  still  they  hoped  that  a  few 
years  of  quiet  literary  work  might  still  be  accorded  to 
him.  This  hope  was,  however,  to  fail  of  fruition,  for 
on  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1886,  between  the  hours  of 
four  and  five  in  the  morning,  he  went  home;  not  this 
time  to  that  land  of  his  birth  beyond  the  tossing 
Indian  Ocean  and  the  heaving  Atlantic,  but  to  his 
eternal  home  on  that  happy  shore  far  beyond  the  sound 
of  the  breakers  that  roll  with  ceaseless  moan  upon  the 
shores  of  time.      And  was  it  not  fitting  that  the  spirit 


24  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

of  the  dear  pilgrim  should  depart  as  the  light  of  dawn 
was  shining  in  the  eastern  sky?  For  it  was  to  the  land 
of  the  morning  that  he  had  given  the  best  of  his  days. 
It  had  been  the  joy  of  his  life  to  watch  the  breaking  of 
the  morning  light  upon  a  nation  shrouded  in  the  gloom 
of  heathen  night.  It  was  to  the  land  of  endless  morn 
that  he  went.  Life  said  not  to  him,  ''good-night," 
but  in  some  brighter  dime  bade  him  "good-morn- 
ing." 

The  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  Rangoon 
Baptist  Church,  which  could  scarcely  contain  the  throng 
that  gathered  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
beloved  missionary.  The  portion  of  the  service  in  the 
Burman  language  was  conducted  by  Rev.  A.  T.  Rose, 
D.  D.,  a  faithful  fellow-missionary  to  the  Burmese,  and 
that  in  Enghsh  by  Rev,  L.  J.  Denchfield,  then  pastor 
of  the  church.  And  then,  as  it  was  written  long  ago 
of  another,  ''devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his 
burial,"  so  it  was  with  him.  He  was  laid  to  rest,  as 
was  fitting,  in  the  soil  of  Burma,  the  land  for  which  he 
had  prayed  and  toiled,  and  he  sleeps  in  the  mission 
cemetery  of  Rangoon,  not  far  from  the  resting-place  of 
his  late  and  well-beloved  co-worker,  Cephas  Bennett. 

As  I  think  of  the  "blessed  sleep"  of  my  godly 
father  I  am  reminded  of  the  words  written  by  the 
Dreamer  of  Bedford  Jail:  "The  pilgrim  they  laid  in  a 
large  upper  chamber  whose  window  opened  toward 
the  sun-rising ;  the  name  of  the  chamber  was  Peace, 
v/here  he  slept  till  break  of  day,  and  then  he  awoke 
and  sang. ' ' 


A    HALF-CENTURV    IN     BURMA  25 

Dr.  Stevens  left  six  children.  One,  Mrs.  Smith,  has 
already  been  alluded  to.  Another  daughter,  Emma, 
has  but  lately  (in  April,  1896),  left  us  to  meet  her 
sainted  father  on  the  golden  strand.  His  eldest  born, 
the  Rev.  Edward  Ohver  Stevens,  between  whom  and 
his  father  existed  a  singular  unity  of  thought  and  pur- 
pose, devotedly  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  godly 
father,  is  stationed  as  a  missionary  in  Moulmein,  his  own 
birthplace,  and  the  scene  of  the  elder  Stevens'  earhest 
missionary  toils.  The  other  three  children,  two 
daughters  and  a  son,  live  and  labor  in  America. 

We  have  thus  far  hurriedly  traced  the  course  of  this 
Ufe-stream  from  its  apparent  spring  amid  the  plantations 
of  Georgia  until  on  heathen  shores  it  goes  beyond  our 
ken.  Consider  now  a  few  of  the  traits  and  character- 
istics of  the  man. 

There  was  one  feature  of  his  work  concerning  which 
I  ask  leave  to  speak  lest  it  be  forgotten,  and  that  was 
its  accuracy.  Dr.  Stevens'  work  in  Burma  was  charac- 
terized by  the  same  careful  scholarship  for  which  his 
college  course  v/as  marked.  He  acquired  a  remarkable 
facihty  in  the  use  of  the  Burmese  language,  so  that  if 
he  had  to  prepare  a  discourse  in  the  native  tongue,  he 
thought  it  out  in  Burmese;  hence  it  was  unnecessary 
for  him  to  translate  their  language  when  he  came  to 
transcribe  his  ideas  upon  paper.  This  facility  and 
accuracy  in  the  use  of  the  language  of  the  natives  much 
enhanced  the  value  of  his  missionary  labors,  especially 
in  the  direction  of  literary  effort. 

But  I  wish  more  particularly  to  allude  to  some  of  the 


26  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

spiritual  traits  which  adorned  and  ennobled  the  charac- 
ter of  the  man.  And  the  first  to  which  I  may  refer 
was  his  prayerfulness.  From  boyhood  until  the 
moment  when  for  him  prayer  was  changed  to  ceaseless 
praise,  he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  prayer.  Unhke 
too  many  others,  for  him  prayer  was  never  a  duty  per- 
functorily performed;  it  was  rather  a  prized  and  pre- 
cious privilege. 

It  seemed  an  easy  thing  for  him  to  ''get  the  King's 
ear,"  for  his  walk  was  close  with  God  and  it  was  a 
delight  for  him  to  commune  with  his  Heavenly  Father, 
to  talk  with  his  Saviour. 

As  illustrative  of  this  characteristic  I  remember  a 
hillock  in  Newton  Centre  which,  in  my  boyhood,  was 
pointed  out  to  me  as  having  once  been  called  "Stevens' 
Knoll,"  because  of  my  father's  habit  when  a  student  at 
the  seminary  of  retiring  there  for  uninterrupted  prayer. 
As  further  illustrating  this  devotional  spirit,  I  quote  a 
few  lines  from  a  manuscript  in  his  own  handwriting:  "I 
wish  to  bear  my  testimony, ' '  he  says,  ' '  of  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  to  the  promise  '  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
he  will  draw  nigh  unto  you.'  Often  in  the  chamber,  in 
some  retired  building,  or  in  the  woods  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Burma,  have  I  taken  hold  of  that 
promise,  and  calling  upon  him,  have  felt  that  indeed 
he  came  to  me  and  deigned  to  grant  me  intimate  inter- 
course with  himself,  so  that  I  felt  I  was  conversing  with 
him.  And  at  the  close  it  has  sometimes  seemed  to  me 
as  was  said  of  Abraham  of  old,  '  He  went  up  from  him 
in  the  place  where  he  talked  with  him.'  " 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  2/ 

Again,  speaking  of  an  experience  in  Milledgeville, 
Georgia,  during  his  last  visit  to  this  country,  he  says: 
*'0n  retiring  I  soon  feel  asleep.  How  long  after  I 
cannot  tell,  for  1  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  the 
time,  I  awoke  and  was  sensible  of  a  peculiar  disposition 
to  pray;  and  yielding  to  it  as  I  prayed  it  seemed  as 
though  the  Lord  came  down  to  me.  I  felt  that  I  was 
indeed  talking  with  him;  tears  flowed  profusely;  I 
poured  out  all  my  heart  to  him,  thanking  him  that  he 
should  thus  have  deigned  to  visit  me. ' ' 

This  beautiful  ruling  passion  was  strong  even  as  his 
feet  were  on  the  banks  of  the  stormy  Jordan.  On  the 
Monday  night  before  he  crossed  to  the  farther  shore, 
after  it  was  supposed  by  the  loving  watchers  at  his  side 
that  he  would  never  speak  to  or  recognize  them  again, 
he  broke  forth  into  a  long,  earnest,  and  beautiful  prayer, 
much  of  it  clothed  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  and 
closing  with  strong  assurances  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
that  name  which  is  above  every  name,  repeating  the 
phrases,  *' his  name,"  ''For  the  honor  of  his  name," 
' '  to  the  glory  of  his  name. ' ' 

The  final  words  of  this  prayer  suggest  another 
marked  feature  of  his  soul  Hfe,  and  that  was  his  love 
for  his  Saviour.  This  love  was  the  controlling  purpose 
in  his  life.  Once  when  dining  with  some  friends  in 
Philadelphia,  a  young  man  asked  him:  "Why  go  back? 
Why  not,  after  a  life  of  toilful  service  on  heathen 
shores,  spend  the  evening  of  your  days  in  well-earned 
rest  in  your  native  land?"  To  this  inquiry  Dr. 
Stevens  promptly  replied:    "The   love   of   Christ  con- 


28  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

straineth  us."  This  simple  but  sincere  answer  made  a 
deep  and  lasting  impression  on  those  present. 

This  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  lived  in  intimate  fellow- 
ship with  his  Divine  Master,  To  him  the  exalted  and 
glorified  Jesus  was  not  a  friend  afar  off,  but  a  dear 
elder  brother  close  at  hand.  A  dream  which  he  once 
had,  beautifully,  I  think,  illustrates  the  love  of  this 
disciple  for  his  Lord.  In  his  dream  my  father  seemed 
to  see  a  prostrate  human  form,  which  he  recognized 
as  that  of  his  blessed  Lord,  subjected  to  insult  and 
indignity;  hastening  to  where  the  body  lay,  he  pros- 
trated himself  before  it,  repeating  while  the  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks,  ' '  My  Lord !  my  Lord !  ' '  And 
then  as  he  gazed  upon  it  the  eyes  opened  and  looked 
graciously  upon  him,  and  the  voice  of  the  Lord  said, 
"You  are  Edward  Stevens."  From  this  dream  father 
awoke  bathed  in  tears,  but  overjoyed  at  the  precious 
thought  that  the  Lord  had  named  liis  name  and  owned 
him  as  one  of  his.  Li  after  days  he  wrote  concerning 
this  dream:  "I  can  never  recur  to  it  but  the  impres- 
sion it  made  is  renewed.  Oh,  to  be  owned  by  Christ! 
For  him  to  call  my  name ! ' ' 

These  words  remind  me  of  the  humility  of  this  man  of 
God.  I  think  in  this  respect  he  had  in  him  eminently 
the  mind  which  also  was  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  lowli- 
ness of  mind  he  ever  thought  others  better  than  himself 
And  because  of  this  humble  spirit  he  was  never  on  the 
lookout  for  slight  or  injury,  and  it  helped  to  make  him 
charitable  in  his  judgments  of  others  and  ready  to  put 
the  best  possible  construction  upon  their  motives. 


A    HALF-CEXTURY    IN    BURMA  29 

There  is  just  one  other  characteristic  to  which  1  may 
be  permitted  to  refer,  and  that  was  his  devotion  to  his 
work.  He  was  heart  and  soul  in  it,  and  restless  when 
in  any  way  turned  aside  from  it.  With  rare  singleness 
of  aim  this  one  thing  he  did,  he  wrought  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Burman  race.  And  even  in  the  seasons  of 
needed  rest  and  recuperation  passed  in  his  native  land, 
he  constantly  felt,  to  use  his  own  phraseology,  that  ''he 
would  go  back  with  a  bound. ' ' 

He  had  a  broad,  catholic  spirit;  every  effort  put 
forth  for  the  upbuilding  of  Christ's  kingdom  had  an 
interest  for  him;  the  cause  of  missions  everywhere,  at 
home  and  abroad,  was  dear  to  his  heart.  But  as  for  him- 
self, he  had  received  a  commission  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  Burmans,  and  his  whole  soul  was  afire  with  zeal 
for  the  reconciliation  to  God  of  that  people  to  whom 
he  felt  himself  an  ambassador  from  Christ.  And 
when  the  King  summoned  this  ambassador  home  to  the 
court  of  heaven,  he  was  almost  loth  to  go,  for  he 
desired  to  stay  a  httle  longer,  if  so  be  that  he  might  do 
a  little  more  for  Burma  before  his  departure. 

Once  during  his  last  illness  he  said:  "  I  feel  that  I  am 
going  to  be  better  and  do  some  more  work.  The  rest 
of  eternity  will  be  great,  but  I  want  to  work  a  little 
longer."  But  in  that  last,  long,  audible  prayer  before 
he  died,  he  commenced  by  saying:  "I  have  served 
thee  a  long  time,  and  if  thou  sayest  it  is  enough,  thy 
will  be  done."  And  so,  though  he  would  willingly 
have  tarried,  he  bowed  submissive  to  the  Divine  will. 

The   following   treasured  note  was  addressed  to  his 


30  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

son  in  America  (then  a  pastor  in  Fargo,  North 
Dakota),  and  was  the  last  direct  communication 
received  by  that  son  from  his  far-away  father.  It  was 
written  on  a  postal  card. 

Rangoon,  March  5,  1886. 
My  Dear  S.: 

I  am  very  glad  to  be  able  to  write  and  say  to  you  I  am  much 
better  again,  but  I  still  have  need  to  be  very  cautious  of  my  move- 
ments. When  one  gets  so  near  to  the  Jordan  that  he  thinks 
he  can  almost  discover  the  other  side,  the  natural  consequence  is 
self-examination.  Well  if  he  then  can  say  with  Paul,  "  I  know 
whom  I  have  believed,"  etc.  May  that  be  your  privilege  and 
mine.  Yours  affectionately, 

E.  A.  Stevens. 

Do  I  seem  to  have  overdrawn  the  beauty  of  this 
father's  character?  It  is  not  claimed  that  that  charac- 
ter was  flawless  or  faultless.  And  yet  I  think  that  in 
that  day  when  the  Lord  shall  make  up  his  jewels  there 
will  be  found  in  the  treasury  few  gems  of  purer  ray 
than  the  soul  of  Edward  Abiel  Stevens. 

In  concluding  this  hasty  sketch  of  my  father's 
career  and  character,  let  me  introduce  a  few  touches 
from  the  pencil  of  one  uninfluenced  by  ties  of  sonship 
or  other  kinship.  They  are  an  extract  from  a  sermon 
preached  to  his  own  people  by  Rev.  WilHam  Kidd, 
pastor  of  the  Rangoon  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr. 
Kidd  says:  ''He  appeared  to  me  to  be  like  Nathanael 
in  the  guilelessness  and  humbleness  of  his  spirit ;  like 
St.  John  in  the  aff'ectionateness  and  amiableness  of  his 
disposition;  like  St.  Paul  in  the  earnestness  and  stead- 
fastness of  his  faith,  and  hke  Christ  in  the  gentleness 


A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA  3  I 

and  meekness  of  his  manner.      He  was  like  Christ  too, 
in  the  tenderness  and  charitableness  of  his  heart." 

Pre-eminent  was  he  for  polite  manners  and  Chris- 
tian courtesy,  and  so  with  us  who  loved  him  as  husband 
or  father,  and  with  those  who  knew  and  respected  him 
as  a  friend,  "he  bore  without  abuse  the  grand  old 
name  of  gentleman." 

On  the  last  Tuesday  evening  before  he  fell  asleep,  as 
there  was  wafted  to  his  ear  the  evening  hymn  of 
Christian  Karens  at  their  worship,  he  aroused  and  said: 
"How  sweet  such  sounds  in  a  land  like  this."  Ah,  my 
father!  Still  sweeter  sounds  hast  thou  now  heard,  in  a 
better,  that  is  to  say  a  heavenly,  country.  The  voices  of 
the  redeemed  Burmans,  by  thee  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of 
God,  and  now  attuned  to  the  matchless  music  of  the 
new  song,  have  greeted  thy  ravished  ear.  Thou  hast 
heard  the  ceaseless  chant  of  angel  and  archangel 
about  the  throne.  But  better  than  all,  doubtless  thou 
hast  heard  a  voice  loved  more  than  all  sa>ing,  "Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord." 

After  the  burial  they  planted  beside  his  "low,  green 
tent,  whose  curtain  never  outward  swings,"  a  palm 
tree,  and  its  branches  now  wave  above  the  form  of  the 
sleeping  soldier  of  Christ.  Fitting,  beautiful  symbol! 
For  it  speaks  of  glorious  victory  and  reminds  us  of  that 
multitude  which  no  man  can  number,  and  with  which 
that  worn  warrior  is  gathered,  "clothed  with  white 
robes  and  palms  in  their  hands. ' ' 

In  March,  1896,  there   was  unveiled  in   the   stately 


32  A    HALF-CENTURY    IN    BURMA 

Judson  Memorial  Church,  New  York  City,  a  stained- 
glass  window,  placed  there  by  the  children  and  other 
relatives  and  friends  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
And  on  the  occasion  an  appropriate  sermon  on  the  life 
and  work  of  the  deceased  missionary  was  preached  by 
Edward  Judson,  d.  d.  It  seemed  fitting  that  in  the 
beautiful  church,  which  is  a  memorial  of  the  elder  Jud- 
son, there  should  thus  be  placed  a  window  in  memory 
of  one  who  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  mission  to 
Burma  a  companion  and  true  yokefellow  of  the  great 
pioneer  missionary  to  that  distant  tropic  land.  On  the 
memorial  window  is  the  following  inscription: 

Tin  /IDcmors  of 

EDWARD  ABIEL  STEVENS,  D.  D., 

For  nearly  half  a  century  a  Missionary  to  Burma, 

BORN  IN   LIBERTY  COUNTY,   GA.,  JAN.    I4,    1814, 
HE  DIED  IN  RANGOON,  JUNE  I9,    1886. 

"An  ambassador  is  sent  among  the  heathen."     Obad.  x. 


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